Harry Potter: A Different Story
by 1yoyo93
Summary: This is a Harry Potter fanfiction using characters of my own that are to surely make you fall in love. Most staff members are the ones presented in the first Harry Potter book, except for the Defense of the Dark Arts teacher who will be portrayed by one of my favorite teachers. This is my first story, but it's open for criticism, good or bad. Happy reading!
1. Welcome to Hogwarts!

**AN: The story takes place some time between James and Lily Potter's graduation and before Harry's arrival. I do not own any characters, items, wizard terms, ect. already associated with Harry Potter. Most students, however, are my own characters.**

_Welcome to Hogwarts_

Ally stepped onto the infamous Hogwarts Express after waving goodbye to her Muggle father and began making her way through the sea of excited, noisy students. She slipped into a compartment- assuming it was empty from the lack of noise- and was surprised to see another first year. "Don't mind if I settle in here, do you?" she asked the fair-skinned blonde who had her nose buried in _Basic Spells and Charms: Year One_. The girl peeked up from her book, shook her head slightly, giving off a somewhat shy aura, and reestablished her studies. Ally nodded to the girl as a sign of acknowledgement and thanks. She sat across from her and put her hands in her lap, feeling boredom ebb at her mind. The train still hadn't taken off yet; it wouldn't for another ten minutes. "This is your first year at Hogwarts too, isn't it?" she asked in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

The girl looked up from her book, closed it, and set it on her lap. "Yeah, I've never been there before."

"You're already studying the textbooks; that's a clever idea. Eh," she said, realizing an important thing, "what's your name?"

"Oh, it's Hailey. Yours?"

"It's-." Ally didn't get the chance to answer as the train suddenly took off. The station outside of the windows went away as they moved. The hustle and bustle outside of the compartments had died away, leaving only faint sounds of chatter from other students. She looked back to Hailey, who seemed to be awaiting the answer. "Sorry; it's Ally."

"I'll remember that," Hailey said in a confident voice. "Do you know anyone at the school? Like, an older sibling or something?"

Ally shook her head, "No, what about you?"

It was Hailey's turn to shake her head, "I don't have any brothers or sisters. Just my annoying cousins, but they're squibs."

"At least they aren't Muggles, right?" Ally said, trying to look at the bright side.  
Hailey nodded with a slight shrug and the two were quickly absorbed into conversation. When they were about halfway through their journey, a woman with a trolley full of treats arrived at their compartment. A stout, friendly-looking witch smiled, "Anything from the trolley?" It had treats such as Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, and even ice cold pumpkin juice. Neither of the girls, however, got the chance to answer because another female rushed to the trolley woman.

"I can't believe I missed you!" she said, trying to catch her breath as she marveled at the cart. "It all looks good." She stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a handful of Sickles. "I haven't figured out how the wizard money works yet. I think this is a pound…" she said and plucked seven Sickles from her hand. Ally cast a brief glance at Hailey, who seemed intrigued by the girl, and stood, standing right behind the girl.

"It's more like three or four Sickles to a pound," she informed the girl who could pass as both a brunette and blonde who nodded.

"Ehh, what do you two recommend?" the girl questioned, and got several answers.

"The Chocolate Frogs are good."

"I like Calderon Cakes."

"You even get free cards with them."

"The iced pumpkin juice is good too."

"I guess I'll have…" the girl said, pondering her decision, "…five Chocolate Frogs… four Calderon Cakes, three pumpkin juices, and two Pumpkin Pasties." The trolley lady gave the girl all of the treats after she paid twelve Sickles and left their compartment.

"That's a lot of food," Hailey said with an arched eyebrow. "Think you can eat it all?"

Emilee shook her head and said with a sheepish smile, "I thought you two could help me with it." And with that, the three girls chatted and giggled through the ride to Hogwarts, making a friendship that was sure to last for a substantial time.

"It's like soccer, but with flying."

"Soccer?"

"Flying? Like with a plane?"

"It's a Muggle sport, and no, with broomsticks."

"And there are four balls: a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. The three Chasers need to get the Quaffle into the hoops at their end of the field."

"And the Keepers block the hoops. Each time the Quaffle goes through the hoop the team that scored gets ten points."

"Then there's the Bludgers that try to knock all of the players off of their broomsticks. The two Beaters have to knock the Bludgers away from their teammates and to the other team."

"And then there's the Golden Snitch. The Seeker's job is to find the Snitch. If they catch it their team gets one-hundred and fifty points."

"The game doesn't end until the Snitch is caught either."

Emilee looked slightly overwhelmed with all of this new information. "It sounds great, but can you explain it again?" Both Hailey and Ally sat back in their seats with exasperated groans. At the same time, the Hogwarts Express came to a steady halt. Students- along with the trio- began to stream out of the train. It was hard to move through the mass of black robes and pointy hats. There were several teachers waving their hands in the air, calling for students depending on which year this would be for them at Hogwarts. Waving and calling for the first years was a large, shaggy man with a scruffy beard that hid some of his face and messy black hair that was long enough to be on a female's head. "All right, firs' years o'er her'!" the tall man called as the first years. Among the group, there was a raven-colored, extremely short haired girl, a medium-sized boy with hair that swirled inward like an ocean's waves.

"'S Everyone her'? Good! Three ter a boat, that's it." Hailey, Emilee, and Ally quickly found themselves sitting in the same boat again. From a couple boats away, they could hear the short-haired girl squealing something inaudible- even though she said it very loudly- at a slender, lengthy boy, who looked annoyed to share a boat with her. "Alright, here we go!"

And with that, the boats were off, sailing across the river and to the incredible stone castle. They had to duck their heads twice to avoid the ancient, gnarled branches of gray trees. They even met with a creature ("It's jus' the giant squid! Lovely ain't it?") at one point as it glided majestically through the water. It was a very relaxing trip, but maybe the raven-haired girl's distant, yet not so quiet talking could've made it more relaxing if it weren't there at all.

They were led into the great castle once the paddle boats came to a halt on the Great Lake's shores. The shaggy man didn't lead them forever. The group of first years met up with a woman who looked very strict and uptight with her hair pinned up in a neat bun.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here," she said and whisked off, calling back, "Come along now." Every step she took echoed along the grand corridor as they followed, looking something like baby ducks following their mother duck, trying to not get lost amongst the twisting and winding halls.

They stopped in a room that was dark, only lighted by torches, giving it an old, but authentic look. "I am Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher and the head of Gryffindor. In a moment's time, you will all be sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. You will eat, sleep, and take classes with your fellow house members. You will meet new people and learn new things at Hogwarts; hopefully you will enjoy your time here. I will be back to retrieve you when ready, but in the meantime you may prepare yourself for the sorting." And with that, Professor McGonagall was gone.

Ally cast a wary glance at Hailey. "Do you know how we'll be sorted?" she inquired.

Hailey shrugged, "I have no idea. Maybe a test; good thing I've been studying." At this, Ally couldn't help but smirk and roll her eyes. Emilee, however, looked frightened at the prospect of them taking a test to be sorted.

"How am I supposed to be sorted if I didn't even know what Quidditch was? They're going to kick me out of the school right away! What am I going to do?" Emilee asked with anxiety.

"I was joking about the test," Hailey said, trying to cheer Emilee up. "They probably tap a wand on your head and sort you."

They quickly found out Hailey was partially right when Professor McGonagall lead them out into the Great Hall. An old, dusty, patched up hat was atop of a wooden stool. All of the first years jumped a bit when the slit in the middle opened up like a mouth and the hat began to sing.

_"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_  
_Your top hats sleek and tall,_  
_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_  
_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_  
_The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
_So try me on and I will tell you_  
_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
_Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_  
_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
_Where they are just and loyal,_  
_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_  
_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
_if you've a ready mind,_  
_Where those of wit and learning,_  
_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
_You'll make your real friends,_  
_Those cunning folks use any means_  
_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
_And don't get in a flap!_  
_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Everyone burst into applause as the hat finished its song. The tip of the hat folded down, as if it were bowing. Professor McGonagall stepped up to the stage and announced the first one to be sorted, "Alfaro, Richard."

A tall, tanned boy stepped up to the stage, looking slightly nervous considering he was the first to be sorted. He put the hat on his head and it called out rather quickly, "Slytherin!" The Slytherins clapped loudly as he joined them at the Slytherin table. Professor McGonagall announced the second name. "Barcenas, Ana." A girl with sleek, long light brown hair stepped onto the stage and tried on the hat. As soon as it tapped her head it called out, "Ravenclaw!" She joined the Ravenclaws who were clapping very loudly, even though they were generally quiet people.

"Brooks, Ally." Ally's heart skipped a beat as she heard her name called. Surely there must have been more people in front of her, right? She took a deep breath and walked up onto stage, trying to hide any unnerved feelings by lifting her chin slightly, a usual sign of confidence. The hat went over her eyes slightly, which was rather embarrassing.

_Loyal and extremely stubborn, _a voice said in her head. _You'd be perfect for Hufflepuff, but you also fit very well in Gryffindor too; which should I sort you in?_

_ Gryffindor would be amazing _she thought in her mind, unaware the Sorting Hat would read her mind. It quickly shouted as it heard this thought, "Gryffindor!" She took the hat off of her head and sat with the Gryffindors who seemed very happy to have her since they cheered louder than the previous two houses. The sorting was rather quick after that.  
"De La Cruz, Emilee."

"Hufflepuff!"

Emilee seemed to be glad there was no test for her to take and sat with the Hufflepuffs. She didn't seem to mind she was separated from her new friend, which was a little disappointing.

"Dominguez, Karina."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Gonzales, Juan!"

"Gryffindor!"

It granted a sigh of relief to Ally to discover there was another Gryffindor joining her. Juan sat down beside her and waved with an almost stupid, but friendly look on his face. She, of course returned the wave.

"Hage, Hailey."

"Hufflepuff!"

Ally's jaw dropped slightly. Something had to be rigged; Hailey acted so much like her! She wished when speaking- or thinking- with the Sorting Hat she had chosen Hufflepuff instead. Or maybe they got to choose Hufflepuff or Gryffindor too, and purposely wanted Hufflepuff for some reason. Trying to shrug off the thought, Ally continued to watched the other first years get sorted.

"Hensworth, Luke."

"Slytherin!"

"Izaguirre, Yahaira."

"Slytherin!"

"Jimenez, Emilio."

"Slytherin!"

"Kay, Robbie."

"Slytherin!"

"Moniago, Calvin"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Prieto, Ivan."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Prince, Adam."

"Gryffindor!"

"Salas, Sergio."

"Ravenclaw!"

"San Juan, Jocelyn."

"Gryffindor!"

"Talamantes, Andrea."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Vega, Arturo."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Vega, Laura."

"Gryffindor!"

"Walker, Anthony."

"Ravenclaw!"

And with that, the Sorting Ceremony was over and everyone began chatting. As soon as the chatting started, however, it stopped as a man with a long, silver beard stood up. He peered at them through his half-moon glasses. "That's Albus Dumbledore," one of the Gryffindors whispered aloud to the first year Gryffindors. Dumbledore smiled and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Welcome to another glorious year at Hogwarts! Let us all sing the school song! Remember, pick your favorite tune!" Dumbledore waved his wand and a ribbon came out with writing on it. It was the lyrics to the song. Everyone began to sing the song in a jumble of out-of-tune singing.

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot."_

Some people finished their songs rather quickly, others took a longer time. Juan seemed to be singing his version of the song in the tune of Adele's _Rolling in the Deep._ Once everyone was finished with the song, Dumbledore spoke again. "Let this year be a great one, as I am sure it will be. Now, let's not postpone the dinner any longer. Dig in!" Covers were removed from serving platters to reveal mounds of boiled potatoes, roast chicken and beef, fried sausages, casserole, tripe, peas, sprouts, shepherd's pie, pork and lamb chops, chips, steak, and- best of all- Yorkshire pudding. It was hard to decide where to start, so most of the first years- or the ones that Ally sat with- just got some of everything. The Great Hall rumbled with laughter, gossip, and general conversation.

It wasn't long before everyone was well fed and drowsy from the delicious food. Everyone was led to the common rooms by their house's prefects. They passed portraits and paintings, busts of famous wizards and witches, even suits of armor that seemed to move. When the Gryffindors walked up the stairs, a prefect began, "Careful, you need to skip this-" He was cut off by a first year- Ally figured that must be Laura- whose foot went straight through a step. "-step," the finished with a sigh as everyone hopped over the step.


	2. No Such Thing as Favorites

No Such Thing as Favorites

It was a little challenging to find the Great Hall for breakfast the following morning, but even worse when it was time for the students to go to their first class, Transfiguration. Most of the students- Gryffindors had this class with the Hufflepuffs, to Ally's relief- showed up at class more than twenty minutes late for class.  
"All right, all right, everyone take your seats, settle down," Professor McGonagall said, attempting to calm the ecstatic first years. It took them a minute or so to all find seats for themselves and calm down.  
Professor McGonagall looked at them all and said in a very proper voice once they all settled down, "Good morning," the class murmured a good morning in return, "as you all most likely know, I am Professor McGonagall, Head of the Gryffindor house, and Transfiguration teacher. You are all here to learn the important fundementals of Transfiguration. Hopefully, when you graduate Hogwarts, you'll be able to do this," Professor McGonagall waved her wand at her desk and it quickly transformed into a swine. The class gave a loud applause and Professor McGonagall smirked, turning the pig back into her desk. It seemed as though she had done this trick for many years to impress first years.

Transfiguration flew by, and before they knew it, they were up, packing away their quills and parchment into their bags. "Hey," Ally started to Emilee and Hailey- both of whom she sat by in Transfiguration class- as she carefully placed a bottle of ink in her bag and asked somewhat awkwardly, "did you two get to choose the house you were in? During the Sorting Ceremony?" Emilee shook her head, her blonde, almost light brown curls shifting inaptly on her shoulder.

"No," Hailey replied, raising her eyebrow high up, "why? Did you choose?"  
"Of course not! I just... wondered if you two did. That's all," Ally fibbed. Hailey gave a skeptical sideways glance at Emilee who was nearly completely oblivious to the lies.  
"Okay, we'll see you at Charms; bye," Hailey said and left, a cogitating look stuck on her face.

"I don't wanna get lost; better catch up with her," Emilee thought aloud and began to hurry away, twisting around and waving bye with a warm smile as she rushed away.  
The Gryffindors were off, shuffling in a rather large herd to their Defence of the Dark Arts class. They got lost once because of Juan who said they were supposed to take a left at the suit of armor. Little did they know, the suit of armor moved around frequently; they didn't even figured this out until they passed it for the fifth time. What felt like an hour of searching that was really less than twenty minutes was cut away when they finally found their Defence of the Dark Arts classroom.  
"Well, looks like the Gryffindors finally decided to make it to class," the teacher said. She was stout with straw-like hair. Her glasses had thick, black frames. "Find a seat; hurry up." The Gryffindors scrambled to find seats quickly. Juan and Ally ended up sitting beside each other, also by the girl from the boats who happened to be yelling at Juan in loud screeches.

"I'm Professor Weldon, and in this class, I'll be teaching you how to defend you from the dark arts, as you should know if you aren't prats." A couple students giggled at the choice of words. "I was in the Ravenclaw house myself when I attended this school," Professor Weldon said, sounding slightly nostalgic. "That doesn't mean the Ravenclaws get to slack off," this recieved a groan from the Ravenclaws, "because in this class, there's no such thing as favorites." Now, as Ally looked around the room, the color scheme was blues and oranges, just like the Ravenclaw's colors. "Now, the only way to learn how to deal with creatures is to deal with them up close and personal. Starting next week, we'll look at our first creature; pesky garden gnomes." Some people sighed, others looked excited.  
Defence of the Dark Arts dragged on a little longer than Transfiguration, but was just as satisfying. As they all walked away, the raven-haired girl's feet got tripped up in her robes that were too long for her and cried out over dramatically, "Professor Weldon! One of the Gryffindors tripped me!" All of the Gryffindors called out in protest.  
"I'm sad to have to say this on the first day; ten points from Gryffindor for tripping Ms. Izaguirre," Professor Weldon announced, making the Gryffindors complain even more.  
"Look, her robes are way to long," Ally protested, trying to get their lost points back. "She stepped on them, and that made her fall."

"Another five from Gryffindor," Professor Weldon said as she helped the girl up. The Gryffindors loured as they went away to Charms.

By the end of the day, the first year Gryffindors were tired and excited for their coming days at Hogwarts. Once they had all been well fed and were in the Gryffindor common room, the first years sat around the fire, speaking about their families and lives.  
"Well, I don't want to brag, but my father is in the Ministry of Magic," Isaac said, in an overly masculine voice that was obviously fake.  
"Nice," Laura replied in a nasally voice.  
"Which department does he work for?" Adam asked.  
"Department of Magical Games and Sports," Isaac said proudly.  
"Cool," Adam replied, leaning back in the chair he sat in.  
"Any of you thinking about joining Quidditch?" Juan asked, looking around at them all.  
"Not me," Jocelyn answered. "I like being in the stands, rooting on Gryffindor."  
"Not into the action, huh?" Isaac asked. "As for me, I'm going to be the best Beater Hogwarts has ever seen!"

"That's pretty ambitious," Ally said. "Chasers are way better anyway."  
"No way!" Adam said a little too loudly. Nearly everyone in the common room looked at Adam, who had gone slightly pink. "It's just, I didn't think you'd like Quidditch, let alone want to be a Chaser," Adam explained, going slightly pinker as they all giggled at him.  
"Everyone likes Quidditch, you git," Laura said and everyone, including Adam, chuckled.  
"So, how about you guys?" Isaac asked, his voice losing all of the fake manliness.

"I'm a pureblood," Juan started, rather bravely. "All of my siblings went to Hogwarts, one was in Gryffindor, another in Ravenclaw, and the other in Hufflepuff. None of them got top O.W.L.s, so my parents don't expect that much of me, even though I think I'll get top marks."  
"I'm a pureblood too," Jocelyn said, her voice soft. She didn't continue and no one pressed her to do so.

"Well, I'm a pureblood," Laura said, still in the nasal tone. "My mom is in the Ministry, like Isaac's dad, but not in the same department. She works in the Ministry of Magic Public Information Services. She wants me to follow in her footsteps, but all she does is paperwork. There's no way I'm going to be stuck in the office all my life. I'll probably go to temples and find relics or something."  
"I'm a pureblood like you guys," Adam said. "My parents don't work in the Ministry, but they travel the world, studying magical creatures like dragons, giants, even mermaids. When I get older, though, I'm going to play for the British Quidditch team. If that doesn't work- I know it will work, though- I'll just travel the world, exploring the different wizarding cultures."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm Muggle-born," Ally stated in a voice that dared them to judge her for her heritage. "My dad's a Muggle, and he works at a water treatment plant. My mom is a squib, but other than that, her parents are wizards. I always visit my grandparents, so that's where my wizarding knowledge comes from."

"Are we missing anyone? The time to spill your guts is now," Adam announced. The first-years shook their heads and Adam smiled, "Great! Now who wants to play Exploding Snap?"


End file.
